Links in the Chain - A Father's Legacy

With Father's Day this weekend, I dug up some old photos of my Dad. Happy Father's Day, Dad.

I like to imagine what he was like as a child.

The photo above is irresistible because of his expression. After the laughs, I noticed it more. I have seen this same expression on my brother's oldest daughter, when she was littler!

At my wedding, my Father gave a memorable speech making note that he was a link in a chain. God has made it that our DNA chains give us similarities. We pass on our traits. And so seeing physical resemblances, we have to smile at that link in the chain, that connection that runs through a family. I see my Father in myself, in my children, in my sister and in my brother and his children.

But he has passed on himself in ways that aren't genetic. My brother noted that he passed on a love for the outdoors and nature, for my family especially... a love for the shore.

He's a reader. He's a mimic. He's a pot-stirrer. He's a wordsmith. He loves music. He can perform for an audience. He loves travel and fine things. He's Mr. Goodtime. He's an animal lover. He's a filmmaker. He's can kick a football over the house and make a huge cannonball in the pool. He's impulsive. And he's an enigma....and we are many of these things too...not by blood but by proximity, by sharing our lives with him.

Looking at that little boy in the surf, the smile, the curls, wearing what I like to think is a miraculous medal that then meant something to him, I see joy. I wish my Father joy on Father's Day and thank him for sharing his joy with me...with us... all these years.

Joy is what holds together the links in our chain.